A casino is a place where people can gamble and play games of chance. Casinos usually offer a variety of gambling products including poker, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and video slots. A number of these casinos also feature entertainment venues, buffets, bars and other amenities. People can also bet on horse racing and other sporting events at these facilities. Some casinos are very large and provide a number of different types of gaming opportunities while others are smaller and more focused on specific games.

In 2005, the average casino patron was a forty-six year old female from a household with above-average income. Most of these patrons were married or had children. In addition, many of these people were retired or had significant vacation time available. The casino industry is dominated by card games, especially baccarat (known as chemin de fer in the United Kingdom and those European continental casinos most frequently patronized by the British such as Deauville, Divonne-les-Bains and the Riviera) and blackjack. In some cases casinos also offer regular poker tables where patrons play each other and the casino makes a profit by taking a portion of the pot or charging an hourly fee.

Casinos rely on security cameras and other electronic devices to monitor activities inside the building. They also rely on security personnel who patrol the floor, look for unusual activities and follow established patterns of behavior. Some casinos even use catwalks over the table and slot machines where surveillance personnel can look directly down through one-way glass on what is going on below.